E3 2012 Closer Look: Trion Worlds

E3 2012 Closer Look: Trion Worlds

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

Right now the internet is all abuzz with news from E3. And this year there has been some recognition that not everyone can go to E3. Trion especially has done a good job of that this year. With photos on Facebook and even a live video feed from inside E3. For someone like myself who is unfortunate enough to live on the other side of the world from sunny Southern California where E3 takes place, this makes us feel like we’re still important, even during this insanely busy week. Trion was out in full force this week representing not only Rift but also End of Nations, their upcoming RTS MMO and Defiance, which will have a corresponding TV show on Syfy.

End of Nations

This RTS MMO was one of the highest trending topics on twitter at E3. And its no wonder why. This game really goes outside the box of traditional MMOs to make something unique and fun which Trion is famous for. PvP battles for control of territory takes place all across the world on maps that can host up to 56 people. This is a two sided war each with two classes which define what units you have access to. There is no need to worry about building up a base like in traditional RTS games. End of Nations is all about slaying your foes. The big news coming from E3 about the game this year was that it would be entering beta in just a few weeks. Oh, and did I mention EoN would be free to play? There will be an in game shop but it will be for cosmetics and other small things. Most importantly they stress it will never be pay to win. As with most F2P MMOs there will also be a subscription option, though few details have been released on it so far. Your troops will be customizable with all sorts of different options through the armory. I just hope we don’t see many hot pink tanks running around.

Defiance

In yet another genre breaking MMO the world has been changed by alien horrors which leave Earth a lush apocalyptic world. Defiance is a third person shooter MMO coming to PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and cable/satellite tv in April of 2013. For the first time ever an MMO and a television show will take place, not only at the same time, in the same world, but what happens in one will have an affect on the other. Though both are due to take part in different parts of the United States, humanity has to stick together to stay alive. The forums for Defiance are brand new and there is little information about the game so far. It was just announced a few weeks ago that production of the pilot episode of Defiance has started. But despite the early stage everyone in there is showing a lot of excitement for both the game and the television show.

RIFT

For Rift E3 this year was all about the first expansion Storm Legion which was announced only a couple of weeks ago. And we got to see the trailer for it then. So instead we were treated to a 17 minute long in game/in E3 live feed. It featured a few scenes from inside one of the new dungeons being released, a fight with a gigantic colossi as well as a nice, though twisted indoor area. We also got a glimpse of a large city surrounded by sand which has areas that are only accessible for a short time after the colossi breaks down a massive wall. Behind the wall are said to be resources and sorts of things that make it exciting to explore. The fight against the colossi has more new features than anyone could have expected. Most notably is body area focused attacking. Instead of just aiming generally at the colossi you focus on areas like the knees or chest. As the fight goes on bits of these body parts will fall off and leave behind power ups which can be picked up by players for things like ridiculously awesome jumping skills. During the live presentation a question was asked about collectors editions of Storm Legion and it was announced then that there would be a digital collectors edition. Which I hope includes new mounts because I am so fond of them. There will be a new public test shard just for Storm Legion which there is no date on yet. There was a lot of awesomeness from Rift at E3 this year but they still managed to leave out so much! I can’t wait to hear more information about this “honkin” expansion.

All in all everything that has come from E3 this year has been amazing. Especially everything that Trion has given us. But in the case of all three games it seems like they have still left so much more to reveal. From a well established fantasy MMO expecting it’s first expansion sometime this year to a third person shooter with an associated television show that is still a year away Trion has a whole lot on its plate and is still kicking ass.